Aloe vera gel--is it really effective?

I was curious about research on aloe vera gel as an aftercare product to reduce inflammation. I did some searching of academic journals (PubMed, etc) to see what I could find. Basically from what I found, it seems like the jury is still out–in some studies the aloe vera gel had no significant reduction in inflammation as compared to a placebo and in some studies there was a significant healing improvement with aloe vera gel.

Based from what I read, I will continue using aloe vera gel–none of the studies indicated that it would do harm. It’s cheap so I will continue using it but I hope to read academic research studies that relate to laser hair reduction and/or electrolysis. :slight_smile:

It helps heal and moisturize the skin. I don’t think it’s meant to calm down inflamation. If you’re talking about using something after electrolysis on your eyebrows, upper lip, etc, try witch hazel instead.

The jury is still out on many skin products. By observation only, I can tell you that cold aloe vera gel right out of the refrigerator feels ssssssssooooooooooooo good on the upper lip after a treatment. It soothes an helps the redness and swelling subside. “Skin and Allergy News” has a good secton on natural products that have been studied, but most article end with the words, “more studies are needed”.